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Snyder seeks 50,000 work visas to lure immigrants to Detroit

After announcing his plan today to encourage thousands of highly skilled immigrants to live and work in Detroit, Gov. Rick Snyder is headed to Washington to try to sell it to the Obama administration.

During a Thursday morning event at the IDEAL Group, a family-owned manufacturing and construction company in southwest Detroit whose founder is the grandson of Mexican immigrants, Snyder announced his plans to try to secure 50,000 work visas for the city over five years. The type of visas involved are not currently allocated by region or state, but rather go to legal immigrants who have advanced degrees or show exceptional ability in certain fields.

Under the governor's unique proposal, one-quarter of the nation's 40,000 annual EB-2 visas would be designated for such immigrants willing to live and work for five years in Detroit.

"Let's send a message to the entire world: Detroit, Michigan, is open to the world," Snyder said during his news conference, which came a day after he backed plans to commit as much as $350 million in state funds to help shore up Detroit pension funds and prevent the sale of valuable city-owned art. "The opportunities are there."

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said his administration plans to submit the "groundbreaking" request to the federal government this week if possible.

Snyder was to travel today to Washington, where on Friday he will take part in a public event on immigration at the National Press Club. Snyder will be accompanied by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former CEO of Kellogg Co. and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, and Randy Johnson, senior vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Afterward, Snyder plans to meet privately with Obama administration officials to discuss his immigration proposal for Detroit. The governor said he also plans to talk to members of Michigan's congressional delegation about the effort.

Snyder said today's announcement is partly about him taking the federal government up on its offer to assist the city of Detroit in nonfinancial ways. "Isn't this a great way that doesn't involve large-scale financial contributions from the federal government to do something dramatic on Detroit?" Snyder said.

He said it is unclear if what he is requesting can be done by the Obama administration alone through administrative action, or if it would require an act of Congress.

"The preference is to get it done administratively, just because of how much faster that can be done," Snyder said.

The question is who gets to decide whether this waiver for Detroit is in the national interest.

The governor specifically is trying to find flexibility in a waiver that allows foreign workers with a master's degree or higher — or who demonstrate exceptional skills in science, business or art — to come to the U.S. if it is in the "national interest." The waiver is available if an applicant does not have a job or if a prospective employer cannot show that there are no qualified U.S. citizens to fill the position.

Snyder wants to broaden the definition of "national interest" to apply it to the geographic area of downtrodden Detroit, likening the concept to one already in place where foreign-born physicians can get a green card after working in an underserved area for five years.

Under the plan, Detroit would be allocated 5,000 visas in the first year, 10,000 each of the next three years and 15,000 in the fifth year.

By bringing these highly skilled immigrants to live and work in Detroit, Snyder said he thinks it would encourage employers to locate in the city, and encourage those already here to expand.

Snyder said there is already strong demand for highly skilled individuals in the automotive sector, at hospitals in the city and for those with engineering and information technology skills.

Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones and council members Andre Spivey and Raquel Castaneda-Lopez were among the community leaders sharing the stage with the governor in support of his proposal.

Spivey and he and Castaneda-Lopez have formed an immigration task force on the council and that he has talked with Duggan about the city having its own immigration office.